BITS AND BOBS OF THIS AND THAT

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Spring is on the way

We are busy…so many things to do. How did we manage when we both worked?

None of these projects are significant in the larger order of things. Yoga, cooking, house plants, dogs, parrots, books, etc., but they matter to us.

Did you take your Metformin, eat your orange, take your vitamin?

Coffee left in the coffee pot, want it?

The dogs are ready for their walk.

I am not a politician working into my 80s, nor anything very important. Nevertheless, I care how I spend my time. And ironically, I may be more productive than ever.

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This year, any extra money is going for home repair, meanwhile, I am putting aside a few bucks here and there for my next plane ticket to CA to see my grandsons.

Regarding the house, the first item on the agenda is furnace duct cleaning…tomorrow. Although I run filtration machines all over the house, the ducts are full of fur and feathers. I told the fellow making the arrangements, I didn’t want the front door left open for a long period in this cold. He says it depends on what equipment they bring. I suggested he bring the equipment used with the front door closed. I don’t want my parrots frozen.

David finally remembered to ask neighbor Mary for the business card of the guy who cares of her 200-year-old elm. Ada will object but I am having the old post oak taken down this spring.

Another project involves painting several rooms including the kitchen. I located a paint that won’t kill my parrots.

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When I walked by his house with Johnny this morning, and stumbled over a branch in the street, neighbor Joe the chauffeur, smelling of shoe polish and carrying a telltale cloth, came outside in his flip-flops, picked it up and tossed it in the neighbor’s yard. It’s his tree, says Joe. And, Happy Valentines’ Day to you.

Did you get rid of your birds? he asked.

No, we down-sized a couple of cages, I replied.

One of them was expensive wasn’t it? About $1,000.

Eurasian Eagle Owl (Bubo bubo) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Yes, I told him, surgical steel, but too big and heavy for us to clean anymore. We must get rid of things we can’t manage.

We pushed the old cages to the curb, and by nightfall, they were gone. Some strong young person hauled them away, probably Dawn’s son.

Last year, I gave an identical cage to another neighbor who works at the county shelter. They use them for rehabilitation of Owls and Eagles….big birds. My little guys were lost in those cages. I bought them when I knew much less about parrots.

We wonder the same thing about retirement. The nice thing about now is that we get busy with all the things we want to do… usually. We still have a ton of painting to do that I don’t want to do. And yes, Art still needs to finish the house renovation project. Sigh..

I wish the crows would come back to Illinois. It’s weird not to see them anymore.

There are elders who do what most of society would consider “big” things. But I think that regardless of age, we are productive human beings if we are accomplishing things that, whether little or big in the eyes of the world, keep us safe, as healthy as possible, engaged in activities we enjoy and conscious of the needs of people, creatures and causes we care about.

And as your conversation with Joe illustrated, all that productivity involves creative adjustments to find new ways to handle tasks and activities.

Yes, it’s getting to be that time of year again. We have to attend to our water system. We have a well, and must check out the filters, the pump, the tank. Btw, I just drove up from Florida. It’s spring in SC; early signs of spring in NC; just bare trees in VA and MD; and snow in NJ and parts north.

Sounds like lots of plans are brewing in that head of yours. I would hate to worry about such things. Every morning, I write a list of things to do. Today’s list? Wrap birthday gifts for my grandkids, soak feet and apply an antibiotic, and bake cookies (new recipe). Easy stuff and doable! Lol.